Lifetime of Kindle?

[recycledelectron]

I believe that the eBooks Amazon.com sells for the Kindle need to be reauthorized through Amazon.com periodically, or they don't work. (Please, correct me if I'm wrong.)

The Kindle reauthorizes these over a 3G wireless network.

I've seen technology come and go over several decades. (I would have never of believed that we'd fill up 64K of RAM.) I've definitely seen cell phone networks come and go. I'm on my 4th cell phone network because my past 3 phones were declared obsolete and the networks that supported them were taken off line by the phone companies.

So, what happens to everything you bought for your Kindle when there are no more 3G networks in your area? Can you back up the books to a card or hard disk and keep them forever? (I think not.)

So, basically, when the 3G networks are kaput in your area, or Amazon decides to stop supporting their server (like Microsoft did for Windows Update for Windows 98, or like Lotus did for the authorization server for 123) then you're screwed, right?

Andy

[igorsk]

No, Kindle books are tied to the Kindle's PID (generated from its serial number), so as long you don't reset the serial somehow (that's pretty hard to do accidentally), you should be able to read them. There's no "reauthorization". You can back them up too.
Of course, if your Kindle breaks down and Amazon doesn't sell them anymore then you're out of luck.

[Alisa]

I've never heard anything about reauthorization. Plus you can have 6 authorized devices and can remove previous devices. The license for the books you buy from them are tied to your account, not a single Kindle. Wireless access is immaterial. You can download to a computer and load via USB (which is what every single other reading device requires) if Whispernet went away. Now if they stop making Kindles, never authorize other devices and do all this with no transition method for desktop reading or conversion, then you would be screwed. I'm not saying it wouldn't happen, just that it wouldn't happen with as trivial changes as you fear.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by recycledelectron

I believe that the eBooks Amazon.com sells for the Kindle need to be reauthorized through Amazon.com periodically, or they don't work. (Please, correct me if I'm wrong.)

Nope - you're wrong.

[recycledelectron]

Thank you for clarifying my errors.

Andy

[tsgreer]

Originally Posted by recycledelectron

....Can you back up the books to a card or hard disk and keep them forever?.....

Yes, you can back up your books that you bought. I do it regularly. Just copy the files from the Kindle to a memory card or you computer...

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by recycledelectron

The Kindle [does stuff] over a 3G wireless network.

The Kindle uses EVDO, not 3G.

[HarryT]

Isn't EVDO a "third generation" technology? I think "3G" is a generic "label" rather than referring to anything specific, isn't it? Here in Europe the name refers to GSM networks based on UMTS. Does it perhaps refer to EVDO in the "parallel world" of CDMA?

[NatCh]

Gol-dang it, HarryT, you done made me have to look the fool thing up!

Unfortunately, the wikipedia explanation doesn't completely clarify it:

Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data only, abbreviated as EV-DO or EVDO and often EV, is a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for broadband Internet access. It uses multiplexing techniques such as Code division multiple access (CDMA) as well as Frequency division duplex (FDD) to maximize the amount of data transmitted. It is standardized by 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) as part of the CDMA2000 family of standards and has been adopted by many mobile phone service providers around the world – particularly those previously employing CDMA networks, as opposed to GSM networks.

So, I'm interpreting here that it is CDMA, and may also be considered 3G.

So. I guess my final response on the matter is on the order of: never mind, apparently I have even less idea what I'm talking about than I though I did.